Dr. John Hurtgen had just been honored with an Earth Stewardship Award on the morning of April 22. That afternoon, he and several friends were heading out of town to ride bikes on country roads when disaster struck.
“Three dogs came up in a road,” said Hurtgen, professor of New Testament and Greek at Campbellsville University. “We’d never seen dogs.”
Hurtgen, unsure of what to do, started spraying the dogs with his water bottle.
“As I sprayed one on the right side, my last thought was, ‘I’m gonna go down,’ because I saw how close my tire was getting to the edge of the road,” Hurtgen said.
Then, everything went dark.
“I don’t know why I didn’t just throw the bottle off and correct,” said Hurtgen. “I went over, they tell me, because I blacked out. I woke up no longer clipped in [to the bike], sitting on the grass when I came to.”
Hurtgen suffered a broken collarbone and pelvic fractures.
“Not many days go by that I don’t say, ‘Thank you Lord that I’m alive,’” Hurtgen said. “A fall like that, especially going off a bike doing a loop de loop, it could’ve broken the neck. I could have died.”
Despite still recovering from his injuries, Hurtgen maintains a joyful spirit throughout his classes, which is evident to his students.
“His constant smile and positivity [stand out],” said Malachi Harpel.
“He is such a sweet person,” said Tori Stone. “He cares about each and every one of his students and is willing to help them with whatever they need.”
“His demeanor is very outgoing or funny with everyone in a loving way,” said Darren Goodwin.
Hurtgen says he has many reasons to keep pressing on.
“What keeps that fire lit for me is this was given as a mission in the very early years that I said ‘yes’ to, not realizing what all this might be,” said Hurtgen. “I could be here a long time talking about who I work with, but I think that’s something that has just kept the fire glowing as well.”
In addition to being a professor, Hurtgen is also an author, pastor and was the second dean of Campbellsville’s School of Theology.
“It’s always been a juggling act,” Hurtgen said. “My wife, Pam, and I have been jugglers for a long time. Everybody does their part. It’s just always a matter of being aware of what has to be done and when. Do I need to do it? Is there someone else who can do this? Some of the people who I worked with would say ‘I’ll take care of that.’”
Hurtgen has been teaching at CU for 35 and a half years.
“This has been an awesome place to invest in life, family and certainly ministry,” Hurtgen said. “Pam and I were talking about that the other day, how blessed we have been to be in one place.”
After marriage and just prior to getting his PhD, the door to come to Campbellsville opened for Hurtgen.
“I had heard that they were needing a New Testament professor at Campbellsville College,” said Hurtgen. “I opened up a little telephone book and called up the vice president for academic affairs, Robert Clark, one Sunday afternoon, and he said, ‘we’ll keep in touch.’ Fast-forwarding 35-plus years later, sometimes you don’t realize why you’re in a place till maybe later.”
Hurtgen is the pastor of Mt. Gilboa Baptist Church in Campbellsville.
“That’s just been another point at which you’re saying ‘yes’ to the voice that initially called you,” Hurtgen said. “I suspect I will continue to hear that voice as time goes on as an opportunity might unfold until my dying day.”
Hurtgen believes God opens up opportunities for people to use their gifts.
“This is true for any and everybody,” said Hurtgen, “because I think of so many ways in which God opens opportunities, different ones, that only you could fill…so the best thing to say is, ‘Yeah. Help me. I’ll do it.’”
Hurtgen hopes some of the spiritual aspects of being a pastor are evident in his classes.
“I hope the fact that I am a pastor carries over into the classroom, where there can be times of prayer, tons of sharing needs and other kinds of things [like that],” Hurtgen said.
Hurtgen said being a pastor has helped him become a better speaker as a professor.
“There’s just something about standing in front of people speaking,” said Hurtgen. “You can’t exactly think you can do this off the cuff, so it’s helped me in the sense of preparing. The actual being before a congregation has helped me have a greater ease in terms of just communicating in front of other people.”
The written works ascribed to Hurtgen’s name aren’t only about theology.
Hurtgen wrote the article, “Boy, baby, and bomb: U2’s use of antilanguage,” and also wrote a chapter about the connection between the Jesuit order and science fiction with his son, Joseph.
Hurtgen plans on taking a sabbatical next semester to spend time writing in Europe.
His latest work will be examining the Pastoral Epistles, I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus, under the lens of honor and shame, benefaction and stereotype language.
“I just want to look at that and do some reflection on how that’s seen in ways throughout the New Testament from Jesus, Paul and others and its value but warnings about being careful not to miscategorize people,” said Hurtgen. “Humans do it, and I suspect we won’t stop anytime soon.”
Hurtgen will be spending time at the University of Durham in northeastern England and in Thessaloniki, Greece.
“I love the university [Campbellsville]. I’ve been here 35-plus years, but to be away is sometimes a healthy thing,” Hurtgen said.
Filling Hurtgen’s shoes at Mt. Gilboa during his time away will be CU student Cordell Brooks.
“He is very devoted to his church, and it is going to be an honor to fill his shoes at his church while he’s gone on his sabbatical,” said Brooks.
Brooks has spent time as both Hurtgen’s student and assistant.
“I love the way he teaches, because he has this passion, and you can’t really tell a difference between him preaching and teaching,” said Brooks.
Hurtgen’s attitude stands out to Brooks.
“He always smiles,” Brooks said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dr. Hurtgen frown. He always walks with a pep in his step, like he’s always so happy.”
Brooks says the amount of energy Hurtgen displays is inspirational to him.
“Knowing Dr. Hurtgen has reshaped me to not only be a kinder person to other people, but to really love what I’m going to do,” Brooks said. “Just as much as he loves Greek, the Bible and Jesus, I want to have that same level of passion for what I do in life.”
